What Not to Say to an Autistic Person

In reality, everyone with autism is different. Some need support for the rest of their lives and some are able to live independently and start a family. Autism alone does not define what someone can or cannot do.

I know someone with Autism and you’re nothing like them.

“‘I know a neurotypical…person, and you don’t act like he or she does.’” Offended? Well good, because autism is a spectrum disorder, so everyone with it has different expressions of symptoms within their personalities. To quote Dr Stephen Shore, “when you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism”.

Autism is just an excuse to be rude.

Aside from the fact that this statement is rude in itself (oh, the irony!), it’s also untrue for most people on the spectrum. Autistic people struggle socially as they don’t understand or pick up on the social cues, so they might seem rude. If you explain that what they said was offensive, they are often apologetic.